Victims
by MrHyphen
Summary: Where there are killers, there are the killed. And when killers rampage, there are victims. Story belongs to Laughing Rain but given to me. Rate T for violence and other stuff.
1. First

Hey Guys, new story. Well, the idea belongs to Laughing Rain but he got some warriors block and decided to give it to me! THX! Enjoy!

Brightheart stalked slowly through the forest. The night was unusually bright, a waxing moon hanging low in the sky.

All the Clan was asleep. She was the only one, a creature of the night, stalking for a kill.

She pounced.

Her aim was true, and she purred with satisfaction as she heard the snap of the small creature's neck. Her task was completed.

The limp body of a mouse hung from her jaws, swinging slightly as she made a small hole to put it in. She kicked some dust over her kill to protect it from the other inhabitants of the forest.

Midnight was always the best time for a hunt, giving her the stifling silence and stillness of night as a weapon, far sharper than claws. Most prey would be holed in their dens at this hour, but those out braving the shadows would regret it with a predator like Brightheart out.

Thanks to her mate, Cloudtail, she could hunt and fight as well as any, despite the horrible wounds the left her with only one eye and ear.

As an apprentice she had gone with her friend, Swiftpaw, to defeat the dog that was living at the Sunningrocks of the old territory and stealing much needed prey from ThunderClan's territory. They both hoped that this feat would convince Bluestar, who was the ThunderClan leader at the time, to give them their long overdo warrior ceremony. They did not know it was an entire pack.

Brightheart's face was savaged by the dogs, almost killing her.

However, she was luckier than Swiftpaw, who now walked among the warriors of Silverpelt.

Looking up to the sky, Brighthear could not see a single cloud. _StarClan must be watching someone, _she noted. _Nothing bad I hope. _

StarClan must not have been watching so carefully at the last Gathering. Sighing inwardly, the scarred warrior recalled the events of the last full moon.

It had been horrible.

Hollyleaf revealed a deeply hidden secret: Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were not her parents, nor were they the parents of her two brothers, Lionblaze and Jayfeather.

Crowfeather of WindClan, a warrior with a past of forbidden loves who had only recently regained the trust of his Clanmates, and Leafpool of ThunderClan, the medicine cat. Medicine cats were forbidden to have mates or kits, and mates from different Clans were highly against the warrior code.

The code was broken in two places, so Leafpool was exiled, almost of her own accord. Firestar did not enforce it, she was off the territory before sunrise and had not been seen since.

Squirrelflight remained in the Clan, even though she was at the heart of the scandal. In technical terms, she had never broken the code.

That did not stop the Clan from rejecting her.

She ate her fresh kill alone, and was poorly groomed because no one would have the compassion to share tongues with the she-cat.

Firestar and Sandstorm did what most parent's would do.

Grieve.

Brambleclaw was badly shaken. He hardly talked anymore, and when he did it was to snap at the attempts to help him.

Both leader and deputy were in bad emotional shape. Patrols were not being organized as they should, and the Clan was falling into disarray.

The three kits of Leafpool and Crowfeather were in just as lousy a situation as the rest.

Hollyleaf had apparently died the night of the Gathering in a tunnel collapse, chasing a squirrel.

Somehow Brightheart didn't believe that the sharp young warrior would be mousebrained enough to chase _anything _into those tunnels, but she grieved her all the same.

The other two- Jayfeather and Lionblaze- were outcasts as much as Squirrelflight. Some of the older cats muttered about it being 'Just some more mixed blood in a Clan of kittypets and rogues.'

Even Jayfeather was excluded from daily Clan life, despite being the only one in the Clan who knew two mousetails about healing.

Rosekit almost lost a paw to an infection after Daisy roughly pulled a thorn out of her paw rather than coming to get it taken out by the careful work of the medicine cat.

Every other cat in Firestar's extended family could feel some pain from the shockwaves going around the Clan.

Although her friends, family, and society were in a confusion, she could feel peace and serenity among the shadows and whispers of night. She swivelled her ears to get a pinpointed location on the mouse she had been stalking. She shifted naturally into a hunter's crouch and began to slink forward to her prey. It was in her sights now, and she was preparing to leap-

_SNAP! _

A twig crunched loudly, but it was not Brightheart who had made the careless mistake. She hissed, then whipped around at the sound of another twig snapping. She swung her head wildly in a panicked frenzy.

"Who's there?" she said in what would have been a commanding voice, had it not been drowning in a sudden burst of fear scent. "Show yourself!"

An amused purr rose from the brambles.

The shape of a cat stepped into the clearing slowly. Brightheart could not recognize the scent or pelt of this cat. She could tell they had just given themselves a furious wash, then rolled in some strong-smelling substance. _Foxdung, maybe? _She thought to herself.

"Who-

She didn't get a chance to ask..

The shape sprung upon her, and Brightheart was unable to fight back before thorn-sharp claws summoned blood gurgling from her throat.

The darkness of the night she had formerly relished were creeping into her vision, but she could see the cat step into the moonlight. This was a cat she recognized, one she knew well. _StarClan, why? _She asked herself. She had no quarrel with her killer. She could only see a speck of their pelt, silver in the moonlight, before blackness took her vision.

Out of the dark, she could see a cat walking on a path of stars. It was her mother, Frostfur, with Swiftpaw and Bluestar by her side.

"Come with us."

And she did.

_Couldn't believe... I could not believe what I had just done. It was right... no, wrong... no, necessary... but still, the guilt did not wash away as quickly as the blood from my paws..._

Hazeltail stood and stretched luxuriously in the cold leaf-bare sun. Despite all the trouble in the Clan, the sun still rose and fell, warming the earth and its inhabitants.

Cloudtail walked over to her, a worried expression on his face.

"Have you seen Brightheart? I can't find her anywhere in camp." he meowed.

"No, I haven't seen her," the worry deepened. "But I'm sure that she's probably out hunting. We can use all the prey we can get!" she finished quickly.

Cloudtail nodded. "I guess I'm only overreacting. On a different subject, Firestar put me in charge of the dawn patrol. Would you care to come? I have Berrynose, Spiderleg, Cinderheart, and Sandstorm already."

"Okay, I'll be right along." she replied. Cloudtail padded away to speak to Firestar and Brakenfur. Seeing patrols being organized and sent out was a comfort to Hazeltail. The young warrior had noticed that most tasks were carried out by single warriors, not a patrol. Padding over to the group of named cats, she noticed that no one seemed to fully know what they were doing.

"Mousewhisker and Thornclaw are patrolling the ShadowClan border already! This is supposed to be a _hunting _patrol!" Spiderleg shouted.

"No, this is the _dawn _patrol!" argued Sandstorm.

"If you haven't notice already, its a little past dawn right now!"

"Maybe it's both?" Berrynose suggested half-heartedly. Everything with Hazeltail's brother was that way now.

"No!" the two older warriors yowled at the same time. Thankfully, Cloudtail padded over and managed to get the patrol out of camp before they clawed each other's ears off.

It turned out to be a hunting and border patrol, as Berrynose had suggested.

Any hope of the Clan recovering its organization was lost at that statement. Cloudtail stood at the head of the patrol with Sandstorm. Both warriors were rubbing their heads up against the trees and plants on the border, leaving their scents to warn off the other Clans. Hazeltail and Spiderleg were both hunting.

Stepping lightly, Hazeltail stalked a mouse. It stood, nibbling a seed. Despite its leaf-bare scrawniness, it would be something to bring back to camp. She pounced, but faltered and fell when she saw the scene before her.

Letting out a shocked yowl the young warrior stumbled back into the brush. She could hear Spiderleg running through the brush, his yowl to Cloudtail, Cloudtail's grief filled shriek as he buried his muzzle into the cold fur of his dead mate.

Such was the commotion that no one saw Berrynose slinking silently away from the group of shocked warriors.

_I watched her mate grieve, inhaling the she-cat's scent. He was thunderstruck. He had not expected this, despite what he had thought earlier. I hated watching this, but it was inadvertent. _

Cloudtail sat, watching the sky. Brightheart's fur glowed softly in the moonlight, beautiful even in death. Looking up, he could see the stars twinkled, safe among their great numbers.

Never having truly believed in StarClan, the white warrior was met with conflicted reasoning. Either way, he hoped his mate was safe, wherever her soul rested.

Cloudtail soon found himself begging silently for the she-cat's safe passage to StarClan.

Whitewing sat beside him, silent as stone, unmoving in a mournful vigil. Her eyes were closed and her breathing steady, as if asleep, but she was very alert. Jayfeather hadn't been fond of her decision to leave the nursery to grieve her mother, but she had held firm.

_Grieving... It stirred pity in my heart. I must learn to ignore that feeling._

Onestar yowled from his branch, signaling the beginning of the Gathering.

"All is well in WindClan. We have nothing to report." the brown tabby nodded to a spotted she cat. Despite her age she stepped up majestically to report news from her Clan.

" The prey runs well. One of our warriors slipped and twisted her leg recently, but other than that all is ordinary."

Blackstar stepped up. "ShadowClan has been hit by a _minor _epidemic of white cough." he paused, then continued, "We say this not because we request help. We have more than enough catmint, thank you very much. We are honestly more_ worried _about the _other _Clans catching the disease." he finished satirically. "Firestar?"

"I must report the death of one of our warriors, Brightheart. She was apparently murdered sometime last night."

_Brightheart's death was unexpected to the Clan. Good._

Bluestar sighed as she watched the scene unfolding in the Clans. She could only watch...


	2. Second

Second

BTW: these first 2 chappies belong to Laughing Rain, check him out! The next ones will be mine though.

A cat walked through the forests of ThunderClan, thinking. Head hanging low and eyes dull with grief, the warrior padded silently on, until, upon reaching the lake, he sat on his haunches and looked out upon the sky, the water, and the place he called his home.

The heavens were beautiful that night, sparkling with oranges and reds that dyed the wispy clouds. The faint beginnings of an indigo night coaxed out the members of StarClan, shining faintly in their lands.

The cat saw all this and wondered if it was a night like this that the Clans had arrived in their lake home.

The older warriors would always tell him this when he was an apprentice. He knew that often times they would exaggerate, and he had always blown them off. They thought they owned this territory, but they didn't. It belonged to the sky, the water, and the earth. It belonged to each new generation that was born here, and each soul that sacrificed it's earthly time here. It belonged to every life that had existed in this place, but very few knew that.

When he was very, very young, his mother had told him that cats that were born at the dawn died with the dusk. He and his littermates were born, she said, when the first flames of dawn caressed the earth.

He had formerly hoped that he would die in a blaze of glory, fighting for the Clan he loved, maybe side by side with his littermates. After a while, that dream became another, one where he died old and peaceful, a wise elder with his beloved mate. Then that dissolved. Dissolved like mist in the dawn. Dissolved like her.

The sun was sinking into the horizon. The cat looked up, then stood and began to walk away into the forest, only to turn around suddenly. He began to run, faster than ever, then leaped, into the sky, then fell into the lake lake that reflected the heavens.

He was born with the dawn, and the warrior Berrynose joined his beloved at dusk.

He was one with the sky, the water, and the place he called his home.

_I gasped. I couldn't help it. I was tempted to run back to the camp to find help, or to try to help Berrynose now. I took a deep breath and began to think clearly once again. No, I mustn't connect myself with death now, or it may remain in the future, arousing the suspicions of ThunderClan. I must wait._

Icepaw leaped towards the shore. The squirrel she was chasing was fast, but she hoped to be faster.

Her feet pounded the stony beach as she ran, causing her paws to hurt, but she couldn't lose this catch. This was her final assessment, and if she was to be a warrior she must catch as much prey as possible.

One more jump and she closed her teeth on the small animal's spine. She looked up, happily swinging the prey as she began to run back to hunt in the forest some more, but she saw something. A shape on the shore, it could've been a piece of driftwood, but she still ran up to it, and was horrified at what she saw there.

Soaked cream fur drooped onto the rocks, boggy water glistened on whiskers, and a dead face held a peaceful expression. Berrynose's hindquarters were being lapped at by the waves and his tail went in and out with the almost still water. Eyes widened in shock and fear, Icepaw did the one thing she could think of: scream.

A white shape burst from the bushes, running up to the body.

"Oh... not again." he whispered. This was the second death in the Clan in mere sunrises. Cloudtail looked from the fallen warrior to his apprentice. "We have to take him back to the camp." the white warrior told Icepaw softly, resting his tail on her shoulder.

She nodded silently, and copied Cloudtail's actions stiffly. Mumbling directions through Berrynose's scruff, Cloudtail could only wonder if death was becoming a pattern in his home.

_I was there when they brought him to the camp. One white warrior in front, another in back, it seemed much like a solemn ritual, although that would come later. Daisy ran up and buried her nose into the cream coat of her son. _

"_My little Berry.." she sniveled as she sat near his body, laid in the center of the camp. _

Jayfeather nosed a pile of half-prepared dock into the back of the crevice where herbs were kept. Icepaw had come in earlier to tell him her assessment was today, falling onto the drying leaves. She wasn't close to him or anything, but she was exitedly bouncing as if she was a kit again, blathering to any who would listen.

He wasn't particularly eager to see the outcome of the apprentices final assessment, but he did see it as a small break from the monotonous work he did. The only real difference from day to day was different small injuries, but even those were disappearing.

He and Lionblaze were outcasts in a way, their only company each other. Even Squirrelflight didn't commonly come near them.

He began sorting the leaves where Bumblekit had crashed into them when Millie brought him in for a thorn deep in his kitten soft pad. Jayfeather had taken the thorn out, but Bumblekit had kept his eyes closed. When he opened them and saw blood welling up from the wound, the young kit had squealed and ran. His mother had managed to keep him still long enough to treat the cut, but the damage was done to the herbs.

Jayfeather curled his nose at the faint scent of blood. Despite all, he never wanted to feel its reek on his nostrils again, nor did he ever wish to have the cold breathing of death near him once more. He had seen it enough.

It mattered not how life ended, bloody or bloodless, it was still leaving.

Hollyleaf, his dear sister, had left him. She had gone out with a bang, a shooting star leaving a gaping wound on all. She was dead, and he was alive. She was somewhere else, maybe with other spirits, and he was here and alone.

His mentor had thought him bitter and grumpy, an unappreciative young cat.

_Ha! She should see me now. _

He had always wanted to be a warrior. Always and forevermore. He would never see in that dream like in most of his. Life was not a dream, only an illusion. A careless show by a cruel puppeteer.

He was blind, but his destiny was not to defend his home as a warrior. He was merely a medicine cat, only here to care for his Clan.

Lifting his muzzle, he sensed the arrival of Icepaw, Berrynose, and Cloudtail. He noticed Berrynose had an odd scent about him, water, as if he had fallen in the lake, and another. He tried to probe the warrior's mind, but found only a dark, empty space, as if his soul was absent.

He hurried out into the clearing. He recognized the other scent Berrynose carried now: death.

Daisy was grieving in a shocked silence. The usual heavy presence of the queen was stifled into a small, quivering cat, standing by the lifeless body of her son. _Thyme for shock. _He recalled as he led the she cat with his tail to his den.


	3. Third

**Hey Chapter 3! Never though I would ever get started on this story, till now. WO HOO! Only 2 reviews though. Waaaaaaaah . I need reviews!**

Brambleclaw ambled out of the Thunderclan camp thinking about Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and himself. They were all outcasts of Thunderclan. Brambleclaw was less of an outcast because he was the one wronged. But not by much.

Brambleclaw eventually padded towards the boundary between Thunderclan and Riverclan. He sat by the river swishing his tail. He suddenly felt very tired and old. He contemplated asking Firestar if he could become an elder. Brambleclaw twitched his whiskers as he thought about screaming orders at new apprentices.

Brambleclaw then turned to think about more serious matters and sighed.

_What did I ever do wrong?_

Apparently a lot, because Starclan seemed to punish him as much as possible. He sighed again. His massive shoulders slumped. He thought about his life.

Kithood: Fun, noticing cats looking at you weirdly, but fun.

Apprenticehood: Sadness and anger that ever thought you were another Tigerstar because you were his son and looked like him.

Warriorship: Exhilerating for a while. Then the trip to find a new home made you a hero, for a while.

Deputyship: Pride, but then cats started to whisper you were going to kill Firestar and take leadership. And it almost happened. But I killed Hawkfrost instead.

Now: Just weary, and angry too. Why should I keep going on? The Clan is dying. I should step down.

Suddenly, a voice that Brambleclaw knew instantly hissed, "I'll help you step down." A long, shiny claw stabbed into Brambleclaw's throat and cut from left to right, slitting his throat and caused Brambleclaw to bleed out. As he collapsed on the ground he looked at his killer and gasped. Or tried to. It came out more of a gurgle of blood.

Brambleclaw managed one last word. "Why?" he whispered.

Remorseless eyes stared at him. How could he ever have thought those eyes were pretty? Long, white teeth were bared into a grin as the cat said, "You will see in Starclan." Then Brambleclaw's vision went dark.

When he woke, he was in what he knew to be Starclan. His mother Goldenflower and Bluestar were sitting just a few fox-lengths away. "Come."

"I must get revenge!" Brambleclaw exclaimed.

"Do not worry." Bluestar said soothingly. "The one you believe is the most incapable will avenge you and all the other cats' lives that monster has destroyed."

So a little unwillingly, Brambleclaw went.

"Where's that good-for-nothing little deputy of ours?" Foxleap asked, more than a little bit angry.

"Probably shirking his duties once more." Mousefur snapped. "Now let me sleep."

Jayfeather heard everything as he padded into the medicine den with thyme in his mouth and came out going towards Firestar's den. At the mouth he stopped.

"Please Graystripe."

"Firestar, I said no and I mean it."

"I can tell Brambleclaw wants to step down, and I don't blame him. But I need another deputy. The only cat I can really trust is you."

"Firestar, I've been deputy once. I was younger. I had goals. Now, I'm old. I just want to live with Millie, get old and fat and order apprentices around. Not make hunting patrols. Please, just choose Brackenfur or someone."

Jayfeather heard an audible sigh before Firestar replied. "All right, if you really don't want to be deputy, I won't force you. Jayfeather decided that was the time to enter. "Hello Firestar. Hello Graystripe."

"Hello Jayfeather." They said at exactly the same time.

"Firestar, do you mind if I talk to you alone?"

"Sure." Firestar replied. "Thank you Graystripe." Graystripe dipped his head (Jayfeather couldn't see that but felt it) and left. Firestar turned towards Jayfeather. "So what do you need?"

"I think Brambleclaw is in trouble. Just a feeling. Could you send a patrol to look for him." Jayfeather turned around then suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Without Foxleap."

Firestar nodded with a puzzled look but only said, "Thank you for voicing your concerns Jayfeather. I'll send a patrol out right away. Without Foxleap."

Jayfeather nodded and walked away towards the medicine den not knowing the killer had heard everything.

_Hmmm. Jayfeather seems to know about it. Maybe he should go. Yes. The Clan would fall into more disarray as well. After Jayfeather, perhaps I should move onto a different clan. Yes. Shadowclan. I'll show those arrogant little foxhearts what true fear is._

Firestar, with Graystripe and Brackenfur set out to look for Brambleclaw. Brackenfur spoke up. "Well, he did say he was going to take a walk by the river and come back soon, so maybe he's by the river."

"Alright, let's try it."

The three cats walked towards the river. Soon, Graystripe found his scent and they easily followed it for a while. Suddenly, Firestar's hackles went up as he sniffed the air. "Blood." Firestar growled. "Let's go."

Soon they reached the river and Brambleclaw's lifeless body. His throat had been cut and his face was frozen into a mask of disbelief and anger. Firestar growled angrily. "He knew the cat who killed him."

"I agree." Brackenfur replied just as angrily. Graystripe looked at Brambleclaw sadly before lifting Brambleclaw with the help of Firestar and Brackenfur and trudged back towards the camp.

Jayfeather was sorting herbs when he felt Firestar, Brackenfur, and Graystripe coming back with the scent of blood and death. _Great. Another cat died. Who is this sick, twisted killer?_

Then, Jayfeather recoiled in horror. The cat that was slumped between Firestar, Graystripe, and Brackenfur was, was, Brambleclaw! Suddenly, he heard an earsplitting yowl of grief as Squirrelflight came running from the forest and rammed into Firestar, sending him sprawling.

"Oh Brambleclaw. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Squirrelflight repeated over and over again.

After the burial Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Squirrelflight and a few other cats were laying in vigil. Jayfeather's mind was bleak with despair.

_What's happening to the Clan? Why is everyone dying? That was the third death in as many days._

Squirrelflight lay beside him sobbing and Lionblaze lay with his head on his paws with a glassy look in his eyes. _Thyme for shock_ he thought dully. _Like that's going to help_.

_Yes. The clan is definitely scared. Very scared. This was much easier than I thought. Especially with that pesky annoyance called guilt. Now for Shadowclan._

Bluestar watched sadly as the events unfolded. Yet she put all her trust into one cat, who would save the forest.

**Oh yes. If you can Correctly guess the killer, I will give you a cookie, cup noodles, reviews, Warriordude plushie and a pm telling you you won! Good Luck. And don't shout it out if you guess it correctly or i will be very, very mad.**


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